Hi. It's been a long while, hasn't it?
I simply haven't been feeling like writing publicly recently, especially with all the grinding I'm doing both in work (I have a new office job but can't disclose what it is) and in gacha games—I just got a PRO role in Skycoach and am piloting others' Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail accounts.
But I was officially put on break by my office—heck fudging yes! Freedom at last! There were no holidays in September and I got burned out.
Anyhoo, enough background yapping. I admit this post was heavily influenced by work frustrations since now, the vast majority of the people I work with are Filipinos (as opposed to Japanese students) and...is it just me or do Filipino workplaces feel more socially taxing on autistic people than Japanese ones? Both Japan and the Philippines are notorious for overworked employees, sure, but I feel like in the Philippines, you don't just have to deal with drinking parties (called 飲み会 nomikai in Japan) but also brainrot conversations (I don't give a flying firetruck about celebrities or teasing like some Americans do), being pressured to sing and dance to popular music (I almost exclusively listen to video game music and I pay attention to the meanings of lyrics so I may avoid listening to songs that I find gross), and take a bajillion photos of hyper-extroverted girls, especially if they find out you're a skilled photographer like I am 'cause Filipinos seem to value quantity over quality in photos.
Part of why I wrote this is I also have a workaholic supervisor who I pissed off so much (usually unintentionally) that she now acts as strict as a (in my head) one-third German, one-third Japanese, and one-third Filipino boss when interacting with me (and other people who get on her nerves even if they wield higher authority than her). Think the strictness and sense of justice of Kujou Sara plus the attention to detail and parental instinct of Xianyun but the ability to engage in brainrot and social extroversion of Arataki Itto.
Tier D
All these characters contain traits that your average grass-touching (i.e. not highly introverted or a hikikomori) Filipino will absolutely HATE to see in me.
Aether, Bennett, Kaedehara Kazuha, Lumine, and the Wanderer are adventurers/travelers/wanderers at their core. Except maybe for Bennett who takes commissions from the Adventurers' Guild, these characters do not travel for profit (unlike some real-world travel vloggers). They're fine with traveling with either many or a few companions; heck, in Kazuha's and the Wanderer's cases, they may even travel alone.
Child Skirk counts here too because she was excited to be an adventurer prior to being trained by Surtalogi. However, it was not stated whether she wanted to adventure alone or with at least one companion.
I'm so bored of traveling in an organized group (i.e. classmates with teachers as chaperones; coworkers; or family members) due to...well, the fact they're organized. I'm chaotic neutral and autistic so adapting to lawful group settings is extremely unnatural and exhausting to me. I don't like having to wake up at this specific time, trying this strange new food, participating in this social ritual, etc. But I've always had a dream of adventuring alone or with a group of close friends thanks to my Pokémon experience since childhood...which I imagine will rub many Filipinos the wrong way because "Bakit hindi mo ako sinasama? Hindi ba ako close sa iyo?" (Why aren't you including me? Am I not close to you?) The truth is often...yes. YoSquid, to this day, is the only Filipino I truly consider a close friend...probably because of how different he is from other Filipinos while being a silly intellectual and gamer like I am.
Arataki Itto, Fischl, Hu Tao, Kirara, Ororon, and Razor are just plain weird, I guess. What good is being a social extrovert if you're a consistent knucklehead? In urban parts of the Philippines, generally, the only acceptable public performances are those of pop songs and their associated dances—very few would give a flying firetruck about Fischl's antics. Hu Tao might sound to Filipinos like an annoying commercial break on TV. Given this is an Asian country influenced by America, being a farmer like Ororon is considered deplorable (for crying out loud, when I expressed interest in learning to farm, I was called out by someone who wanted to be a chicken farmer for "wasting my intelligence"!)...and it doesn't help Ororon's social skills suck. And no one likes a guy who acts like a cat or wolf.
Chongyun and Xingqiu like to help people out of the goodness of their hearts; not for profit. Unlike Noelle, though, they do not have as much of a reputation for efficiency, especially since Chongyun struggles to actually find a demon to exorcise while Xingqiu does not care to continue his family business in favor of pursuing his own heroic path...and reading more fiction books.
I hear of expat stories where they notice Filipinos find it weird when doors are opened for them (when security guards aren't doing it). I have a feeling Filipinos also easily smell when I'm trying to be a people-pleaser so they frequently say no when I try to be generous. (Side note: I sometimes weaponize this by "offering" to share my food when I really don't want to share so I can hoard all the food to myself because I will most likely hear a no. On the off chance I actually get a yes, I will share.)
Aino and Klee are too childish. In this Asian country, it's assumed by many adults that if a kid can talk and walk, he/she can do things adults can and should be treated as such...so I hate it when I try to play with my Klee-like niece and I get called out for it because even though she's not even a teenager yet, I should "respect her like an adult." My ex-girlfriend Alevius, an American, disagrees...though it may be due to her bias in favor of children to the point she (a 21-year-old) even treated me, a 26-year-old, like Baby Xiao (and I liked it—I didn't give a firetruck about our age difference). Aino's case is even worse because she threw violent tantrums on some Frostmoon Scions who initially refused to give back one of her robot friends.
Shenhe, Skirk, Tartaglia, and Xingqiu are associated with passion in martial arts or brutal murder...and much like the Japanese, some Filipinos seem to be disapproving, indifferent, or scared of me when I calmly mention that I love martial arts when in reality, I don't like hurting people in real life and I limit my BRUTAL MURDER to video games. I feel like many Filipino adults are the type of people who think people who play Grand Theft Auto are violent criminals in real life.
Diona is the antithesis of the Filipinos I encounter who keep exhorting me to drink alcohol no matter how bluntly or frequently I say no. (For crying out loud, no Japanese student has ever done this to me—even the alcoholics.)
Kamisato Ayaka is one of the characters Alevius strongly relates to because of her elegance...and fanon yandere personality. Unlike your typical crop top-sporting Gen Zer, Alevius prefers Victorian fashion (she's a fan of British culture and Monty Python) and similar. She also has much less of a potty mouth than I do. But when I ranted about my Keqing-like high school crush and my work supervisor, Alevius threatened to knife them (though I'm sure she'll never actually do it outside of legitimate defense).
I similarly take love very seriously (hence Alevius describing us as having a knight-and-princess dynamic)...and got in trouble at work for my staunchness in avoiding being too physically close to female coworkers outside of things like handshakes or meetings.
(Self-reminder: Put Yae Miko in the C tier and Candace and Yoimiya in the B tier)
Chiori, Citlali, Collei, Freminet, Furina, Lynette, Lyney, the Raiden Shogun, Sayu, Xilonen, and Yun Jin do not fit Asian ideals. Chiori is a staunch individualist who is blunt and will kick your butt if you annoy her, Citlali and the Raiden Shogun are extremely introverted, Collei is dumb by Asian standards because she is still learning to read, Sayu is a lazy sleepyhead, Xilonen is similarly lazy, and the other characters are not doctors, engineers, lawyers, or pop/rock dancers or singers (unlike, say, Xinyan).
Finally, Yumemizuki Mizuki is there mostly because many autistic people like me have difficulty intuitively figuring out what someone is thinking (in technical terms, impaired Theory of Mind) and thus have to slowly and logically process it. So it weirds many Filipinos out BIG TIME when I discuss psychology in general...and for those who have actually interacted extensively with neurodivergent folks, I feel like it's a 50/50 chance—one who has a probably-ADHDer boyfriend was like "WTF?" (my words, not hers) while another with an autistic daughter actually kept me engaged without feeling suspicious.
Tier C
Most of these characters have at least one minor quality Filipinos look for in a person but a fatal flaw that stops them from being likable at the end of the day if they were real people.
Lisa is smart but just...ew. I don't wanna talk about it.
Amber and Mona are extroverted and smart respectively but one sucks at cooking while the other sucks with money.
(Self-reminder: Put Kaeya in the A tier)
Beidou is a good person, sure, but being a pirate is weird.
Xiangling is undoubtedly a highly skilled chef to the point Escoffier wants to learn from her but Xiangling may be too passionate in her job to be socially acceptable. I feel like in this country, groups and people like Arthur Nery, BLACKPINK, BTS, ONE OK ROCK, Taylor Swift, other people in your immediate vicinity like classmates and coworkers, etc., are the only acceptable topics for infodumping—not even Mobile Legends, interestingly.
Dehya is similarly passionate about her mercenary work and much like Ike from the Fire Emblem series, Dehya has a sense of honor. However, being a hired killer makes Dehya somewhat suffer from similar problems to Tartaglia and others.
Iansan is a gym rat to the core...which is not as appealing by Philippine standards compared to playing basketball.
Being the Anemo Archon, Venti is an excellent bard and absurdly heavy drinker...but he's also the God of Freedom so his unhinged nature would not sit well in a collectivist culture like this.
Xiao is a strong and dutiful warrior but he's far too aloof. Rosaria is similarly aloof but prefers to strike from the shadows; not on the front lines. Alhaitham is probably the worst type of aloof here by Filipino standards since he's both untidy and an Insufferable Genius. Kinich is similar to Alhaitham but much less of a jerk and more of a practical thinker in the moment...but suffers in that despite many Filipinos having a gambling and/or social media addiction, video games are even more frowned upon.
Eula is a dancer but #1, it's not pop; #2, have you ever tried openly swearing vengeance on anybody and everybody IRL?
Shikanoin Heizou is a smart and competent detective but Kujou Sara can't stand the fact he wanders off just chillin' out of nowhere.
Yae Miko is funny and attractive at first but her pranks and teasing will eventually get on people's nerves.
Not like I want to act like Yae Miko anyway. Heck, I prank and tease people significantly less often than the average Filipino; this is usually limited to my family members and close friends much like with Xingqiu.
I think Filipinos only want the punny side of Cyno; not his serious, seemingly emotionless side.
Layla would've been in D-tier if she didn't have her Star's Blessing alter ego where she becomes crazy powerful and smart while her normal sleepyhead side is asleep. Doesn't help that I've been having a hard time activating my version of Star's Blessing...or as I prefer to say, entering my Nightsoul's Blessing unless someone drives me into throwing Aino-level tantrums.
Kaveh is good at architecture but he's broke as fudge...and I hate this country's "pa-libre" culture; i.e. asking for free stuff. (Doesn't stop Alevius from having him as her #1 favorite character, though! I'll take it! And honor that by building cool stuff in Minecraft!)
Filipinos would much rather drink alcohol, Coca-Cola, or coffee than tea which is Wriothesley's favorite drink. Doesn't stop this boxer dude from being personable, though (to the point Alevius shipped him with Arlecchino).
Navia is an elegant and generous mafia boss...but she's infamous in the fandom for being a crybaby and in this country, you're only allowed to cry if either you're a girl or you're spamming crying emojis. 😭😭😭
Arlecchino has a scary exterior so given how much Filipinos live in the present instead of looking at the big picture, she's a quick turn-off. It is possible, however, to convince them with proof that Arlecchino is actually a loving "father" figure (like Alevius).
Clorinde is a combination of the weirdly passionate Pyro characters and the aloof characters in this tier since when she's working as the Champion Duelist, she takes her job very seriously but outside of it, she's an awesome Dungeon Master (yes, I'm intentionally using the Dungeons & Dragons term). And I think few Filipinos know what tabletop RPGs are and it'd be a huge pain in the butt for me to teach them given how traditional schools and workplaces kill creativity. (I was homeschooled—maybe that's how I had a lot of time to enhance my creativity so it was somewhat easy for me to learn to be a Dungeon Master and my players were genuinely entertained.)
Kachina is quite ambitious but I feel like by Filipino standards, she's not good enough because although she qualified for the Night Warden Wars, she was Killed In Action (KIA).
Tier B
This tier is the bare minimum to be accepted in Filipino society, I think. It will not fly, however, with those who are much more extroverted, either logically like the Germans or socially like other countries colonized by Spain in history.
Albedo, Sangonomiya Kokomi, and Sucrose are not very socially proficient but they make up for it by being nerds who don't have major moments of jerkiness like Kinich's or Xiao's.
Diluc is an aloof Batman expy but he makes up for it by being insanely rich.
Qiqi works for a doctor so I guess it counts for something? Similarly, Tighnari knows medicine but that's not his main job.
Candace and Yoimiya are nurturing characters who are the mother figure of Aaru Village and big sister figure of Inazuman kids and Klee respectively. However, hardly any Filipino seems to call me to fit any of those roles—not just because I'm male (duh) but I guess I'm too childish for my age—I'm 26 years old but I still feel like a 13-year-old at heart.
The closest I got was being the leader of my close friend group, I guess, but it only had two Filipinos—the remaining three were American, Indian, and Singaporean. One could argue it practically had three Americans because YoSquid and I act nothing like a typical Filipino.
Charlotte is a professional photojournalist who values quality news reporting. However, masking as Charlotte becomes exhausting when I am asked for lots of photos either by people who act like March 7th from Honkai: Star Rail or put Kujou Sara-like pressure on me to do so to the March 7ths out there. In photography, I care about quality, not quantity.
Zhongli is also incredibly smart but he's a bit too infodumpy by Filipino standards. I admit I sometimes have difficulty summarizing things.
Gorou is loyal like a dog but I think Filipinos don't like my natural Tanjiro-like leadership style and prefer for me to lead like one of the S-tier characters.
Nahida is extremely smart but may be too childish for Filipinos' taste.
Filipinos cringe (or in Philippine English, "nosebleed") when I speak English due to my fluency and natural American accent. Doesn't help that I also know a little Japanese and was a former English teacher. So me acting like Faruzan is more like entertainment than education to some of them.
Filipinos are MASSIVE foodies so if I had Chevreuse's junk food addiction or Escoffier's cooking skills, I'd be constantly begged for food if I wasn't a crazy people-pleaser.
(The reason I put Escoffier in B and Xiangling in C is Escoffier's characterization emphasizes her cooking skill more than her passion while Xiangling is the opposite.)
Tier A
These characters have their flaws generally overlooked in favor of at least one major quality Filipinos look for in a person.
Barbara, Ganyu, Ineffa, Jean, Mika, Noelle, Thoma, and Yaoyao are responsible and friendly people. Additionally, Barbara is a singer, Ineffa and Jean are mother-like, Noelle is crazy strong and multi-talented as a maid which is very common among Filipino women, and Thoma is a "male maid" who also gives "pa-libre" despite the risk of him going broke (and holy fudge, I know one person who doesn't seem to respect the fact I have an entry-level salary).
Admittedly, I put Ineffa in A-tier also as a jab at how society makes people robot-like.
Barbara, Gaming, Nilou, and Xinyan are dancers or singers. For crying out loud, Nilou is such a popular choice for cosplayers (not necessarily Filipinos) even to this day!
You know the Asian stereotype of "doctor, engineer, lawyer, or bust"? Baizhu, Ifa (yes, I know he's a veterinarian), Sigewinne (yes, I know she's a nurse), Xianyun, and Yanfei fit the bill. (I know Aino is an engineer too but she's far too much of an a-hole by Filipino standards.)
Doesn't help that I heard from a newly promoted Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Lieutenant General that he thinks his deceased father is disappointed in him because unlike his siblings, he didn't become a lawyer. Sigh. Being a soldier is an incredible honor, darn it!
Yelan is a scary secret agent but part of her role includes being charismatic so she gets a pass, I think. Being able to strike a casual conversation with some dangerous criminals you're planning to arrest takes a lot of guts and social prowess.
Dori is rich as fudge. In this third-world country with a "pa-libre" culture, everyone has to pitch money in but being rich is a "bonus". I don't want Filipinos thinking I'm "rich" and taking advantage just because I have a gaming laptop and a rich uncle working in California—I've largely stopped depending on him. For crying out loud, this same rich uncle expects me to treat him to a restaurant! It's as if he's unaware of how terrible the economy in California is right now, let alone the whole muddle-fudging world.
Chasca is probably one of the most family-oriented playable characters in this game given how much she cares for her adoptive Qucusaur family to the point we even rescue a "little sister" of hers from poachers extracting Qucusaur blood! Filipinos are similarly so family-oriented even after children reach adulthood that they're expected to send home money and pasalubong (homecoming treats/gifts) from abroad! It's not as simple as sending food, fridge magnets, or keychains like the Japanese do with omiyage either—you have to bring home entire freakin' boxes!
Honorable mention to Chasca's human stepsister Chuychu for also being a doctor.
Mavuika is different from other Pyro characters in that she's multi-talented. In addition to being a strong warrior, leader, and strategist, she tries out a bunch of hobbies like painting—she wants to continuously improve herself. I admit this latter part is the reason I'm not super similar to Mavuika contrary to what Alevius thinks.
Finally, Varesa eats a LOT. I reckon she's not a picky eater...unlike I who unintentionally disrespects Filipinos because apparently, "I'm full", "I'm good", and "I'm not hungry" are NOT good enough responses to being offered food I don't like regardless of whether I'm being honest, unlike in America.
Tier S
These are the "model children" of Filipinos; the kinds of people Filipino children are expected to be as soon as they arbitrarily become "adults" even at 8 years old or something.
Kamisato Ayato, Keqing, Kujou Sara, Kuki Shinobu, Neuvillette, and Ningguang are all very hard workers. Forget Neuvillette being a bit of a crybaby—as the Chief Justice, he's probably THE best law expert in Fontaine bar none. Kamisato Ayato is highly charismatic. Kuki Shinobu is multi-talented as she possesses the skills of both Xiangling and Yanfei. Keqing is relatable to the fashion-crazy Filipinos out there.
Sethos is both smart and a social extrovert. People see his potential to excel in the Akademiya. The Ruins Exploration: Fieldwise Center even showed Cyno-level humor from Sethos.
Mualani is the ultimate entertainer. She loves dancing, surfing, and volleyball while being a veteran of the Night Warden Wars. She's also extremely extroverted—even Paimon can't keep up.
I once mimicked Mualani's dance in front of my coworkers...and while they liked it and I think I was accurate, I secretly died of cringe because it is incredibly out of character for me. I would much rather discuss something intellectual, play co-op video games, or spar/train in martial arts than do a popular dance.
Conclusion
TL;DR: Filipinos like "kids" who are doctors, engineers, lawyers, extroverts, professional photographers who cater to their selfie-happy culture, responsible, rich, and excellent dancers and singers of pop music. They dislike individualists, introverts, lazy people, martial artists (except for Manny Pacquiao), and manchildren. Logical intelligence is only valuable when it keeps the productivity machine running or is celebrity/gossip brainrot; not when it's an individual passion.
Just get me the fudge out of the Philippines. I had way more success with Alevius, an American, than most Filipinos and Japanese people. I am a gamer, martial artist, and intellectual at my core; not a cog in the machine, a dancer/singer, or a March 7th's lapdog. Stop forcing me to drink like Venti or eat like Varesa; this conflicts with the Anemo Archon's ideal of freedom.
The funny thing is despite this shared Asian demand for responsibility in others, many Filipino adults are actually irresponsible. It drives me up a wall when I see my coworkers littering or other drivers being hyper-aggressive, for example.
